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Fatal Gaps:
Can dangerous people buy guns in your state?
Pennsylvania is one of the top seven highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.
Washington is one of the top seven highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.
California is one of the top seven highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.
Following the Virginia Tech tragedy, Virginia became the national leader in submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.
Michigan is one of the top seven highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.
New York is one of the top seven highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.
Delaware is one of the top seven highest-performing states for submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands of records missing from even the top-performing states.
RE: Your plan to end gun violence
Dear Governor and President Obama,
The recent mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a painful reminder of the dangerous gap between what we’re doing and what we should be doing to prevent gun violence.
Among the most glaring of our failures is the fact that millions of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system.
The shooter at Virginia Tech was a prohibited purchaser under federal law, but he was able to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people because his mental health record was never submitted to the national database. More than five years later, people with severe mental illness can still purchase an arsenal of deadly weapons because many states haven’t submitted all relevant records to the background check system.
I commend my Governor for making it a top priority to submit all of our state’s mental health records to the national do-not-sell gun database. But too many states are not doing enough, and every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
RE: Your plan to end gun violence
Dear Governor and President Obama,
The recent mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a painful reminder of the dangerous gap between what we’re doing and what we should be doing to prevent gun violence.
Among the most glaring of our failures is the fact that millions of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system.
The shooter at Virginia Tech was a prohibited purchaser under federal law, but he was able to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people because his mental health record was never submitted to the national database. More than five years later, people with severe mental illness can still purchase an arsenal of deadly weapons because many states haven’t submitted all relevant records to the background check system.
If leaders at the state and federal levels make it a priority, we can keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. So I’m concerned that our state has failed to submit all the records of residents who’ve been deemed too mentally unstable to buy guns to the national background check system. And every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
That’s why I’m writing to demand a plan to end gun violence that includes fixing the broken background check system.
RE: Your plan to end gun violence
Dear Governor and President Obama,
The recent mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a painful reminder of the dangerous gap between what we’re doing and what we should be doing to prevent gun violence.
Among the most glaring of our failures is the fact that millions of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system.
The shooter at Virginia Tech was a prohibited purchaser under federal law, but he was able to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people because his mental health record was never submitted to the national database. More than five years later, people with severe mental illness can still purchase an arsenal of deadly weapons because many states haven’t submitted all relevant records to the background check system.
If leaders at the state and federal levels make it a priority, we can keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. So I’m concerned that our state has failed to submit all the records of residents who’ve been deemed too mentally unstable to buy guns to the national background check system. And every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
That’s why I’m writing to demand a plan to end gun violence that includes fixing the broken background check system.
RE: Your plan to end gun violence
Dear Governor and President Obama,
The recent mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a painful reminder of the dangerous gap between what we’re doing and what we should be doing to prevent gun violence.
Among the most glaring of our failures is the fact that millions of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system.
The shooter at Virginia Tech was a prohibited purchaser under federal law, but he was able to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people because his mental health record was never submitted to the national database. More than five years later, people with severe mental illness can still purchase an arsenal of deadly weapons because many states haven’t submitted all relevant records to the background check system.
If leaders at the state and federal levels make it a priority, we can keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. So I’m concerned that our state has failed to submit all the records of residents who’ve been deemed too mentally unstable to buy guns to the national background check system. And every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
That’s why I’m writing to demand a plan to end gun violence that includes fixing the broken background check system.
RE: Your plan to end gun violence
Dear Governor and President Obama,
The recent mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a painful reminder of the dangerous gap between what we’re doing and what we should be doing to prevent gun violence.
Among the most glaring of our failures is the fact that millions of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system.
The shooter at Virginia Tech was a prohibited purchaser under federal law, but he was able to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people because his mental health record was never submitted to the national database. More than five years later, people with severe mental illness can still purchase an arsenal of deadly weapons because many states haven’t submitted all relevant records to the background check system.
If leaders at the state and federal levels make it a priority, we can keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. So I’m concerned that our state has failed to submit all the records of residents who’ve been deemed too mentally unstable to buy guns to the national background check system. And every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
That’s why I’m writing to demand a plan to end gun violence that includes fixing the broken background check system.
RE: Your plan to end gun violence
Dear Governor and President Obama,
The recent mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a painful reminder of the dangerous gap between what we’re doing and what we should be doing to prevent gun violence.
Among the most glaring of our failures is the fact that millions of records of prohibited purchasers are missing from the background check system.
The shooter at Virginia Tech was a prohibited purchaser under federal law, but he was able to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people because his mental health record was never submitted to the national database. More than five years later, people with severe mental illness can still purchase an arsenal of deadly weapons because many states haven’t submitted all relevant records to the background check system.
If leaders at the state and federal levels make it a priority, we can keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. So I’m concerned that our state has failed to submit the records of residents who’ve been deemed mentally unfit to buy guns to the national background check system. In fact, we rank near the bottom of the nation in mental health record reporting, and every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
That’s why I’m writing to demand a plan to end gun violence that includes fixing the broken background check system.
Every day, 33 Americans are murdered with guns. Too often, the people pulling the triggers were able to buy firearms because of the gaps in our broken background check system.
After the horrific shooting in Newtown, CT, President Obama committed himself to delivering a set of concrete proposals to address the epidemic of gun violence in America. Requiring a criminal background check for every gun sale should be part of that plan.
But for background checks to be effective, states need to submit millions of missing records to the national background check databases. Every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
See where your state stands, and Demand A Plan to end gun violence from President Obama, Congress and your governor.
Following the Virginia Tech tragedy, Virginia became the national leader in submitting mental health records. However, there are still tens of thousands records missing from even the top-performing states.
Mental Health Records Submitted
555,968
Mental Health Record Submissions Needed to Join Best-Performing States
15,968
Why does this matter?
2,155,968
gun background checks were conducted in Connecticut in 2011 using this incomplete database, which fails to block gun sales to the millions of prohibited purchasers whose mental health records are not in the system.
